Never Say Never
by Above the Winter Moonlight
Summary: COMPLETE AU Childfic Abuse is the one thing that Harry Potter is used to but abandonment is a completely different story. Left alone by his guardians and struggling to survive Harry soon finds that help may come in the most unlikely of form...R&R please
1. Strangers in the Snow

**Summary: **AU Childfic. Abuse is the one thing that Harry Potter is used to but abandonment is a completely different story. Left alone by his guardians and struggling to survive, Harry soon discovers that help may come in the most unlikely of forms...

**Author's Note: **Here is a new story that I thought of and I thought it would be good to post it. It takes place approximately six years before Hogwarts and it is completely AU. It is a Snape/Harry mentor/guardian fic as well as a childfic for some of the chapters as it may extend into the first five or so years of Hogwarts though not likely. If it does, however, then HBP and DH will never have happened. I hope that you like it and reviews are much appreciated.

**Author's Note II:** I have reposted the first chapter because someone pointed out to me about Sirius's place not being used until after _Prisoner of Azkaban _or _Goblet of Fire_, I don't remember, so I changed it and I have decided to redo part of the first chapter. I have also changed the title of the story since I sort of thought this new title fit the plot more. Knowing me, I will probably change the title again later on in the story but for now, this one suits the story. I have also added chapter titles to this chapter as well as the next one coming up and most of the chapter titles will be poem or song titles while some are just made out of thin air.

**Warnings:** There is child abuse, profanity and neglect used in this story, some, if not most, will only be used in flashbacks or dreams so it won't be too bad.

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Harry Potter, I never have and I never will and I am only saying this once so I won't repeat it in later chapters._

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 1**

**Strangers in the Snow**

He was used to abuse but never in his entire life did Harry Potter believe that his family, his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley would leave him by himself. Harry had only been playing in the park, albeit without his guardians' permission but when he looked toward the ice cream stand where his cousin had dragged his parents to earlier, he saw no one there.

Frightened, the small four-year-old boy pushed himself to his feet and gazed around. He had been taught by his Aunt and Uncle to never speak to strangers but he felt worried because he didn't know where his family was. Harry shivered and wrapped his small arms around his body before he started walking, unsure of where he was going.

Walking over the snow-covered streets, Harry shivered again, his clothing was too big for him as he only received Dudley's hand-me downs and his guardians' refused to give him a jacket, saying that bad kids didn't get jackets. The little boy whimpered as he gazed around in fear as the sun began to fall into the night sky. London was silent and the streets were all but deserted aside from a few cars driving quietly down the snow-encrusted streets. Hardly anyone walked along the sidewalks and a few of them glanced with some concern at the little boy as he walked, unsure of where he was going.

"Are you all right?" a female voice asked suddenly.

Harry drew backwards as an elderly female with slightly gray hair stretched out a hand as if to slap him. He shook his head but didn't say anything, remembering his Uncle's words that he wasn't to talk to someone he didn't know.

"You look so cold," the female said softly, her dark eyes smiling gently at the boy but Harry drew backwards a few steps anyway. _Why'd anyone be nice to a freak like me?_ he thought.

"Come on, little one, why don't we go someplace and get you something warm?" the woman said quietly.

Harry shook his head.

"You'll freeze if you don't come with me. I won't hurt you," the woman said quietly.

Harry whimpered, knowing that he couldn't believe anything this woman said to him. She was just like any other woman that Harry has ever met and he has only ever met his Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia. Marge hated Harry and always set her dog on the four-year-old boy, Harry still sported some of those scars on his leg as they never healed properly. It was because of this that Harry didn't trust the elderly woman in front of him.

He backed away again and the elder woman frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said quietly.

Harry shook his head again before he turned around and ran away, not caring where he was going, only knowing that he had to get away from the elder woman.

* * *

Severus Snape wasn't too happy; four years had gone by since his beloved Lily's death and yet Albus Dumbledore still insisted that Severus become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Severus didn't mind that part because Lily had been apart of the Order before she was killed but he hated to thought of being around people who didn't trust him because he had once been a Death Eater.

Relaxing on his couch in his house in Spinner's End, Severus was drinking a glass of Firewhiskey while examining the snow that slowly fell outside of his window. After his mother and father had died, Severus decide to take up residence in his childhood home, in spite of the bad memories, when he wasn't teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Severus's thoughts drifted to Lily, the beautiful woman that had been Severus's first and best friend at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was because of Lily that Severus was able to make it through his seven years at Hogwarts, even after he took the Dark Mark. After he took the Dark Mark, he had been surprised when Lily forgave him for it and forgave him for calling her that nasty word that he didn't really mean.

Severus felt guilty for Lily's death because, not even a few days following meeting Lily and gaining her forgiveness, Severus had delivered the half-heard prophecy to Lord Voldemort, which resulted in the deaths of Lily and James Potter when the dark lord tried to kill their son.

Shaking his head to clear it, Severus heard the rush of magic coming from the floo and he turned his attention to it as Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts and founder of the Order of the Phoenix, stepped out of it. Severus curled his lip in a sneer. _Really, couldn't he have knocked? _He thought.

"Albus, to what do I owe the honor?" Severus aid.

"Minerva was in the muggle world today, Severus," Albus said taking a seat on a chair, causing an . "She ran across a boy that strongly resembled the boy Harry Potter. Before she could see the scar, however, he took off running."

"What would Potter be doing without his guardians? I didn't think they would let their little Golden Boy out of their sight," Severus sneered.

"He was last seen entering this area, Severus," Albus said. "And you know that it is dangerous for Harry to be out this late at night, especially with Death Eaters around."

Severus knew this to be true. "What does this have to do with me?" he demanded.

"Minerva doesn't like that I gave Harry to his Muggle relatives but the blood wards are supposed to protect him. Harry needs to be with his relatives and you're the only one that I can contact to pick up the boy and deliver him back to his relatives," Albus said.

"What about Lupin?"

"Tonight's the full moon, Severus."

Severus grimaced, he really didn't want to go pick up the Potter boy. "Fine," he said curtly. "I'll go pick up the Potter brat and deliver him back to his relatives."

"He is not a brat, Severus," Albus said quietly.

Severus snorted before placing his glass of Firewhiskey on the side table before standing up. Albus stood up as well before he walked over to the floo and called out, "Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts," before stepping into the green fire and disappearing.

Severus sighed. _I suppose I may as well try to find the boy,_ he thought.

* * *

Severus didn't know how long he had been walking around his childhood home. He searched down the streets, his traditional scowls keeping late night walkers away from him until he narrowed his eyes in thought. _Where would I find a four year old brat?_ He wondered silently as he continued to walk.

Severus found himself near the park where he had first met his beloved Lily and told her she was a wizard. He forced himself not to smile at the memory before he shook his head and examined the park. He found the boy sitting on a bench in a nearby park, his small arms wrapped around his body and there wasn't a jacket around his shoulders. Severus frowned. _Shouldn't he have a jacket?_ He thought.

He walked over to the boy before kneeling down beside the bench and stretching out a hand. He placed it on the boy's shoulder and the boy immediately drew away from him, whimpering in fear. "I'm not going to hurt you," Severus said.

The boy gazed up at him, his hair fell over his forehead but Severus did see the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead that he received from Voldemort four years earlier. The boy drew backwards, fear filling his eyes. "Don't hurt me," he whimpered.

Severus was startled. _Why did the boy think I am going to hurt him?_ He wondered silently before he scowled to himself. _Why would I care about Potter's little brat?_ He told himself firmly but his heart didn't believe his own words. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said.

"They say that too," the boy whimpered.

"Who?"

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vern'n," the boy replied with a whimper. His eyes suddenly widened with such stark fear that even Severus Snape felt his heart skip a few beats. This boy truly was terrified but of what? Severus did not know the answer to that question.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked quietly.

The boy whimpered before lowering his head. "Get in trouble for speaking to strangers,' he whimpered. "Not suppose talk."

Severus narrowed his obsidian eyes, wondering what that was supposed to mean. "Come on, boy, I won't hurt you. Let's get you back to your guardians," he said.

"No," the boy burst out before he started crying. "They won't be happy if I…if I didn't stay with them. S…Said that I…I was…was…." He started speaking and crying at the same time and Severus had a hard time figuring out what the boy was saying. Growling quietly to himself, he held out a hand and called a calming draught to his hands.

Pouring out enough that wouldn't hurt the small boy, Severus stretched out a hand. "Here, drink this," he said.

The boy drew away before shaking his head stubbornly.

"Come on, boy, drink it, it's not going to hurt you," Severus said firmly placing the potion beneath Harry's lips and the boy reluctantly drank it. Before long, the calming draught took affect and the boy slowly grew calm before blinking green eyes up at Severus, his glasses were slightly askew.

"Come on, boy," Severus said. "Can you stand?"

The boy shook his head. "Too cold," he whimpered.

Severus reminded himself that the boy wasn't wearing a jacket and he once again wondered who in their right mind would take a child out in this cold without a jacket. He pulled off his own muggle jacket and put it around the small boy's shoulders. The boy stiffened but immediately snuggled closer into the warmth that the jacket provided.

Severus stretched out his arms and lifted the four-year-old boy into his arms, telling himself quite firmly that it was only because the boy was too frozen to stand up, let alone walk. With that, he apparated away back to his house in Spinner's End so that he may talk with Albus Dumbledore about what he found here.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: like I said, this is AU**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: yup it is so please review and yes I did update this story because of the mistake one of my reviewers pointed out to me and I did add some things as well as changed the title.**


	2. Dear Agony

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: I'm glad I got ten reviews on the first chapter so I have decided to post the second chapter of this story**

**Darth: is it going to be short?**

**Blaze: probably. Here is chapter 2 and I hope that you like it, reviews, as always, are much appreciated and once again it is AU so many of the characters may seem a bit OOC, especially Dumbledore and I'm not entirely sure if Severus can make it so his home at Spinner's End is heavily protected but I decided to include that in the story so that's completely AU, unless it's true which I doubt.**

**Darth: and?**

**Blaze: if anyone can figure out where I got the title, which I really think has something to do with this chapter, I will give them a free…ah anything virtual that you want. Also, flashbacks will have flashback typed before them since we all know that Harry has visions of Voldymuffin later on in the series so I want to keep those separate since I am planning in bring old Voldy into this story. As for the story title, yes I did use it once for a _Star Wars _story that I deleted. After I heard this song by The Fray, I knew that it was perfect for this story.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 2**

**Dear Agony**

Harry blinked his eyes a few times to find himself lying on a comfortable couch with a blanket covering his shoulders. He stiffened in fear; he wasn't supposed to be on the couch, his Aunt and Uncle didn't want him on it but he was too comfortable to move. Voices came to him and pulled the four-year-old boy into a sitting position before he gazed around.

"He cannot return to those muggles, Albus," a voice, female by the sound of it, protested angrily.

"The blood wards protect him from the agents of You-Know-Who," an elder man's voice replied in a calm voice.

"They beat him, Albus. He was so scared that he didn't even accept my offer of help and you saw the examination when we had Poppy look at him earlier."

"I'll have a talk with them…"

"Are you that naïve, Albus?" a smooth cold male voice snapped. "He is being beaten by his relatives. Are you going to make the same mistake twice in your lifetime?"

"I truly regret what happened to you, Severus, but…"

"You are thinking of sending the boy back to his relatives. My father abused me and you did nothing. His relatives abuse him and you're still going to do nothing. Are you really that dim witted, Albus?"

"What am I supposed to do? The blood wards protect him from the agents of You-Know-Who."

"Yes but they do not protect him from his family," the female voice said breaking into the conversation. "I'm sure there are many families, non-muggle ones, who would be willing to take in the Boy-Who-Lived."

"But none of them can offer him the same protection that the blood wards can," said the elder man.

"What about Severus's place?" the female voice suggested. "It is well hidden and protected by wards that not even the agents of the dark lord can penetrate. That was one of the reasons why they never knew where Severus lived during the war. Then again, that could be because he never went back there. Besides, he can always bring the boy with him to Hogwarts while he's teaching."

"What? I am not taking the Potter brat in," the smooth voice snapped angrily.

The elder man's voice sighed. "I'm going to have to agree with Minerva, Severus," he said. "It is either you take him to your heavily protected place during holidays, and Hogwarts during the school year or I will be forced to send him back to his relatives."

Harry gazed at the three people who were in the same room with him. One he recognized as the dark clad man that had saved him earlier. The man looked to be about twenty-four years old with greasy dark hair and obsidian eyes that glittered with barely restrained anger. The second was an elder woman with graying hair that he felt he had seen before while the third was an old man with white hair and a long white beard that sort of reminded Harry of Father Christmas.

The dark man scowled angrily. "Fine, I'll take the brat in," he said reluctantly.

"You know that I would not ask this of you, Severus, if I did not think you would be best suited at looking out for him," the white haired man said.

"I am not suitable for looking out for him, Albus," Severus retorted. "I've done so many things in the past…" He broke off and didn't finish his statement.

"Severus, you repented your actions after the war," said Albus.

"Besides, we'll be able to help you as well as Molly and Arthur will be there as well to help," the woman that Harry assumed was Minerva said. Harry curled into a ball, wondering why they were talking about him as if he wasn't there. He reminded himself to not speak because of his Aunt and Uncle's rules.

Severus glared at the two of them. "I already said I would take the brat in, didn't I?" he snapped.

"I know. I just don't want it to seem as though I was forcing this on you," Albus said.

Severus scowled.

Harry gazed at the three people. "What I doin' here?" he whimpered finding gaining the courage to ask the question that has been burning in his mind.

The three people turned as one to look at the four-year-old boy that was lying curled on the couch. Minerva smiled gently at the boy and Harry frowned, recognizing her as the woman that had tried to help him earlier. He shrank away from her before whimpering in fear. The old woman reminded him too much of Aunt Marge even though she didn't have a dog with her as his aunt did.

"You're here because you'll be safe here," said Albus gently walking forward.

Harry frowned up at the white haired old man. "You look like Father Christmas," he said.

Severus snorted while Minerva's lips quirked in the start of a smile.

Albus laughed softly. "I suppose I do," he said.

Harry whimpered. "Gotta go home. Aunt and Uncle be mad if I don't come back," he said starting to push himself to his feet. A coughing fit immediately caused him to fall back onto the couch.

Severus walked to his side before lifting the boy's head slightly and placing a cup beneath his lips. "Drink," he murmured.

Harry started to protest but the dark man was insistent and he finally relented and drank the thick liquid in the cup, wrinkling his face at the taste. Almost immediately, the coughing spasm disappeared and he felt much better.

"My colleague here wishes to become your guardian. Would you like that?" Albus asked.

Harry raised his green eyes to look at the dark haired young man. "You?" he asked softly. He sat up before gazing at the dark man and he moved over to sit close to the young man. "You save me," he added.

Severus threw a glare at Albus before glancing at the small four year old boy. "Yes, I did," he replied. "And if you want, you will never have to go back to your relatives."

Harry's eyes went as wide as the full moon above the sky. "Really?" he asked in a soft subdued voice. He couldn't believe it, he just couldn't believe that someone he didn't know would take in a freak and burden such as himself. He shook his head before whimpering. "Not true," he said.

"What's not true?" Minerva asked confused.

"No one like me…just a freak," Harry whimpered.

* * *

Severus's eyes flashed with anger at the tone of the boy's voice as if Harry truly believed those words. Albus was shocked speechless while Minerva looked on the verge of either crying or going to the Dursleys and ripping them to pieces. "Who called you a freak?" he asked struggling to keep the anger out of his voice. He certainly didn't want the brat to start crying.

"Auntie Petunia, Uncle Vern'n and Dudley," Harry whimpered.

Severus resisted the urge to snort. _Tuney seems to not have gotten over her jealously of Lily and it turned into something more, _he thought angrily. "You are not a freak, Harry," he said firmly.

"Am too."

"No you are not."

"Am too so there."

_Merlin save me from stubborn four year old boys, _Severus thought rolling his eyes to the ceiling in Albus's office. "You are _not_ a freak," he said it slowly but with an edge that prevented Harry from trying to argue. The boy shrank way from him before gazing up at him in confusion.

"Make things happen," he whimpered. "Caused Dudley to trip down steps. Sent food flying everywhere."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "And why precisely did you do that?"

"Didn't do it," Harry whimpered. "Was mad and then it go flying. Wasn't even near it. That why me a freak."

_Accidental magic,_ Severus thought. "You are not a freak," he said again struggling to knock some sense in the stubborn Potter brat.

"Am too. Can do that stuff."

"Harry, the reason you can do that is because you're a wizard," Albus said gently as he looked down on the four-year-old boy.

"Wisard?"

"Yes, you have powerful magic in your body."

Harry shook his head. "Magic not real," he murmured.

"Who told you that?" Minerva asked looking surprised like Albus while Severus's blank expression was back on his face.

"Aunt Petunia," Harry replied.

"They lied to you, magic is real," Minerva said gently.

"No, it not."

"Yes it is."

"No, it not."

_Stubborn little brat,_ Severus thought rolling his eyes again before narrowing them. "It is real,' he said to the boy causing him to look at the Potions Master with brilliant green eyes that reminded the young man of his beloved Lily and he had to force himself to not look away even while guilt coursed through his body.

He had promised to protect Lily's son after he joined the Order of the Phoenix just before Lily and James had been killed and yet he hadn't been able to protect the boy from his own relatives. _Oh Lily, I am so sorry,_ he thought.

Harry gazed up at him before looking down and he didn't reply right away. He shivered and Severus put an arm around the little boy's shoulder. _I'm only doing this because he's cold,_ he told himself firmly in the vaults of his mind.

Harry flinched slightly before he leaned into the warmth and rested his head on Severus's side. He gazed up at him. "You wanna be my gu…gu…" he frowned as he tried to figure out how to pronounce the word.

"Yes, I want to be your guardian," Severus said though he glared over Harry's head at Albus who managed to rope him into this. Albus smiled, a twinkle in his eyes, and Severus resisted the urge to snort.

Harry hesitated. "Won't have to see Aunt and Uncle again?" he asked.

"No you will not, Harry," Minerva said gently. She glared at Albus. "He shouldn't have had to spend this long with them," she murmured just loud enough for Albus and Severus to hear.

Harry was too busy gazing up at the Potions Master to hear anything that the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress had said to each other. "Okay," he said happily before he hesitated and rested his head against Severus's side. Severus gazed down at the boy, narrowing his eyes but strangely softened when he remembered what he had gone through with his father.

_It seems we have more in common, Harry, than your father and I did,_ Severus thought.

"Where we go now?" Harry asked.

"I will speak with the Ministry to get the custody papers." Albus gestured with his hand that he wished to speak with the Potions Master alone and Severus nodded before slowly getting to his feet.

Harry whimpered before gazing up at Severus. "Don't go," he whimpered.

"I won't be long," Severus as soothingly as possible before he walked over to join Albus, waiting as the Headmaster cast a silencing charm and wondering what he wanted to say that he didn't want Minerva or Harry to hear.

* * *

"Why don't you try to get some sleep?" Minerva suggested to Harry who was still gazing over the back of the couch to where his soon-to-be guardian was speaking with the old man that looked like Father Christmas. He remembered that the old man's name was Albus because of what he heard when he was sleeping.

Harry gazed at the elderly woman before shrinking away from her, once again reminded of his aunt Marge. Minerva stayed away from him but still watched him with dark eyes until the boy finally gave up and lied down on the couch. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

**Flashback**

"_You little idiot," Vernon screamed angrily at the four-year-old boy. "We don't want none of your freakishness in this house. How dare you use your freaky powers on my son?"_

_Dudley had pushed Harry while they were on the stairs and Harry was making his way to his cupboard beneath the stairs and he got angry and suddenly Dudley was sent flying down the stairs, crashing into Petunia who immediately began weeping and gushing over the fat boy._

_Vernon's face was purple with rage and Harry whimpered before shrinking away from his Uncle. His uncle sneered at him before grabbing him, slamming him into the wall and slapping him hard across the face. Again…and again…and again until a cut appeared on Harry's lip._

_Harry forced himself not to cry but even so tears started to fall from his face._

"_Don't you dare cry, you little freak," Vernon said angrily before he grabbed Harry and pulled him into his office, tossing him in roughly before he pulled his belt off and slammed it into Harry's back. Again…and again…and again…and again until several angry red welts covered the boy's skinny back._

"_That'll teach you to touch Dudley," Vernon growled before he stalked out of the office, leaving Harry sobbing on the floor._

_Petunia didn't offer any comfort as she walked into the kitchen to prepare her food and Dudley walked into the office before kicking Harry hard in the side. Harry cried out in pain and Dudley glared at him. "That teach you," he spat before he kicked him again and stalked out of the office._

"_Boy get in here and cook dinner, now!" Vernon screamed angrily._

_Harry quickly scrambled to his feet, tears in his eyes from the pain. "Yes Uncle Vern'n," he said before he hurried out of the office to head toward the kitchen._

**End Flashback**

* * *

Harry whimpered as his eyes snapped open before he gazed around rapidly forgetting where he was and wondering why he was sleeping on a couch in a big room instead of the mattress in his cupboard. He whimpered. _Not suppose be up here,_ he thought starting to push himself up so that he could climb off of the bed.

"What do you think you are doing getting up?" a voice asked and Harry whimpered before glancing up to find the elderly woman gazing down at him with concern in her eyes. "You're much to tired and injured to be walking around, Harry," she said gently.

Harry shook his head mutely and sat down on the floor, the rules his aunt and uncle drilled into him coming back into his mind.

Minerva gazed down at the little boy. "You can sit on the couch you know, it's much more comfortable," she said and, as if to prove her point, she sat down as well before patting the seat next to her.

Harry shook his head.

"Come on, Harry," Minerva said soothingly.

"Not allowed," Harry whimpered.

"You are here," Minerva said quietly.

_It's a trick, don't trust her, don't trust any adults,_ his mind screamed at him and Harry agreed with the voice in his mind before shaking his head again and refusing to get up from his position on the floor. Minerva gazed at him with gentle sadness in her eyes before she stood up, reached down and gently lifted the four year old boy before placing him on the couch, catching the boy by surprise.

The instant he was placed on the couch, Harry tried to get off, afraid that she had only done that so that she would have an excuse to hit him like Petunia and Vernon always did. Minerva wouldn't allow it though and put an arm around the boy's shoulder as she struggled to keep the four-year-old boy from climbing off of the couch and sitting back on the cool floor.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: that was a six page chapter**

**Darth: well really five pages if you don't count the Author's notes**

**Blaze: true**

**Darth: what's going to happen in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: Albus and Severus's talk, Minerva and Severus go to the Dursleys, and Harry goes to his new home though probably not in that order.**

**Darth: The Dursleys already?**

**Blaze: like I said, it will probably be at the end of the next chapter rather than in the middle.**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: please review and I would greatly appreciate it if I can get 20 or more reviews before I post the next chapter. A huge thank you to the first ten people who reviewed this story. By the way, I do not condone child abuse, no matter how many times I use it in this story. (Believe me, it's a pain in the butt to write it and not want to saw my hands off for what I put.)**


	3. Not Alone Anymore

**Blaze: yes, new chapter**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: yup and here are the review replies for the reviewers of the last chapter**

**SAGGYHERMAN: **Thanks for the review.

**Badbonita: **Oops, I completely forgot that Harry was fifteen months old when he was placed with the Dursleys. Thanks for letting me know and thanks for the review.

**lunaz: **Thanks for the review.

**cara-tanaka: **Thanks for the review

**TeaPott: **Thanks for the review, here is the next chapter

**MishaySahila: **Thanks for the review

**niceladysakura: **Happy new year to you too (though a little late) and I hate them too

**FireFriday: **Thanks for the review.

**IchiKura1: **Thanks and I'm glad you like it, thanks for the review.

**Gerard-n-Jethro:** You'll see in the first part of this chapter as well as the reaction. Thanks for the review.

**AliensWhoLikeHP:** Thanks for the review.

**Nefari:** Don't worry, the Dursley's won't and there will be plenty more interactions between Sev and Harry. Thanks for the review.

**Blaze: and here is the next chapter that's likely to be short, I hope that you like it and reviews, as already, are much appreciated and Harry won't go to his new home until the next chapter. The last chapter title came from the Breaking Benjamin song by the way and this title came from the song by George Harrison.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 3**

**Not Alone Anymore**

Once the Silencing Charm had been cast, Severus examined Albus as the Headmaster stayed silent for a long moment. "Severus," he said softly. "You know that no one must know about your guardianship of Harry because it would put both of you in danger. And that means that you will have to keep to your spying duties in order to avoid raising suspicion from people like Lucius Malfoy."

Severus sighed. "I sort of figured that," he said. "But now that You-Know-Who is gone, we really don't have to worry about it. I honestly don't think that he will be back _before_ Potter starts Hogwarts and while Potter is studying at Hogwarts, I can keep up my duties without raising suspicions."

"Are you going to tell Harry about this?"

Severus hesitated. "A relationship, no matter what kind, cannot last if it is built on lies," he said softly remembering that that was what caused him and Lily to drift apart. She still forgave him and stayed his friend but he had lost her forever to James bloody Potter. "If I want him to trust me then I will have to be honest with him. I won't tell him anytime soon, he's much too young and still reeling from what happened with those bloody muggles!"

Albus nodded. "You will have to return to the Dursleys in order to get guardianship of Harry. Are you planning on adopting him?" He asked.

Severus bit back the sharp sarcastic retort. "What else am I supposed to do?" he said lips curling in a sneer. "If I don't adopt the brat then the Ministry won't see it as legal and send him back to those muggles."

"I suppose you are right. Nonetheless, the Dursleys will have to sign the papers."

"Yes, I know this." Severus curled his lip again. "I thought the Ministry will be too thrilled about having me, a former Death Eater, taking custody of the Boy-Who-Lived." He mentally told himself that James Potter would probably be turning in his grave if he knew that Severus was taking custody of his son. That brought him some satisfaction.

"You're the only one that can, Severus. Lily named you his second godfather and since Sirius is in Azkaban, you're the only one he has left," Albus pointed out.

Severus nodded shortly. He knew that Lily had asked him to be Harry's godfather in spite of what happened with Voldemort. This occurred soon after Lily forgave him for calling her a 'mudblood' and after he turned away from Voldemort. He had joined the Order of the Phoenix just before Lily and James had been killed and he often blamed himself because he had been the one to deliver the prophecy Trelawney had uttered to the Dark Lord. But, nonetheless, he was still the godfather of Harry Potter and now that the Dursleys were proven to be unfit guardians and Black was still in Azkaban, as Albus had said, he was the only one left.

"What are we going to do about the Dursleys?" Severus asked curtly. "I would very much like to shake some sense into their thick skulls." _And perhaps curse them a few times,_ he thought.

"We will do nothing but confront them. Once we get a confession, we'll let the muggle police force deal with it," Albus replied.

Severus growled. "After what they did to Potter, they deserve more than that," he snapped angrily.

Albus narrowed his eyes. "Both you and Minerva want to hex or curse them, don't you?" he asked.

"After what they did…" Severus shrugged and left the thought hanging. "I won't do it, however, since I know doing so would likely land me in Azkaban but they deserve to pay for what happened to Potter."

Albus's eyes twinkled. "Of course, Severus," he said. "Rest assured, they will be taken care of." He glanced toward the couch in Albus's office before narrowing his eyes when he spotted Minerva gently holding Harry down. "Now I wonder what that is about?"

Severus shook his head. "Why don't we find out instead of standing here looking like idiots?" he sneered before walking toward the couch.

* * *

Harry whimpered as he struggled to escape the woman's grip. Minerva had a strong grip but Harry knew that he wasn't supposed to be on the couch and kept trying to get off and sit on the cold floor. "Can't stay up here," he whimpered.

"Why on Earth not? It is a perfectly nice soft couch," Minerva protested.

Harry shook his head and whimpered again before he glanced up as the tall dark man and the bearded old man walked over to join them. The old man's eyes were twinkling. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked curiously.

"Harry won't stay on the couch. He seems to think that he's not supposed to be up here and I keep trying to keep him on," Minerva replied.

Harry whimpered before he struggled out of Minerva's grip and climbed off of the couch. The tall dark man walked over to join him before gently lifting the boy and placing him back on the couch, sitting beside him. "You are allowed to be up here, Harry," he said. Harry noted that his voice, though curt was soothingly gentle, unlike Uncle Vernon's or Aunt Petunia's voice. "You don't have to sit on the floor. In fact, you shouldn't be sitting on the floor."

Harry was about to reply but sneezed instead and the tall man handed him a handkerchief before wiping his nose and putting the handkerchief away. Harry coughed before whimpering. "Not allowed up here," he said gazing up at his tall rescuer with huge green eyes before lowering his head to look at his lap. "Uncle get mad."

"Your Uncle's not here, Harry," Minerva pointed out.

Harry whimpered. "Who you?" he asked curiously.

"Oh I am sorry. We forgot to introduce ourselves, didn't we?" Albus said with a small smile. "I am Albus Dumbledore and this is Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape."

Harry gazed up at him. "S…Severus?" he stammered out struggling to pronounce the unfamiliar name.

The young man, Severus, nodded. "Yes, Harry."

"My g…guardian?" he stammered out the word and managed to pronounce it right.

"Not yet but soon."

Harry smiled happily. "Why you be my g…guardian?" he asked curiously.

"Because what your Aunt and Uncle did to you was horrible," Severus replied. He hesitated for a split second before adding, "I also knew your mother and she named me your godfather."

Harry's eyes went as wide as the moon again. "You knew mummy? And you my godfather?"

Severus nodded.

Harry frowned. "Why not come for me 'fore?" he asked hesitantly.

"I did not know of what was occurring in your home," Severus admitted throwing a glare at Albus that Harry barely missed seeing.

"What you mean by not yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"I mean that I have to get your Aunt and Uncle to sign over custody of you over to me," Severus replied.

"Oh." Harry looked downcast as if he was expecting his Aunt and Uncle to not agree to sign over the custody. He gazed at Severus before he scouted hesitantly closer to the dark clad man and put an arm around his waist. He flushed in embarrassment when he realized what he had done but before he could pull back, he felt the dark man put an arm around his small shoulders.

The look he directed at Albus and Minerva, who were grinning, could have melted stone.

"We go home now?" Harry asked.

"Soon, Harry, soon," Severus replied. "We still need to get the papers and then go over to the Dursleys."

As if on cue, the fireplace suddenly turned green and Harry gasped in surprise as a young woman came out of the fireplace dusting herself off as she did so. Albus turned to look at the woman. "Hello, you must be Amelia Bones of the Ministry," he greeted her.

The woman nodded in greeting. "I got the papers you requested, Albus," she said. "As you are the one that is supposed to be watching him since Black is in Azkaban, I cannot go against any decision you made even if you decided to choose _him_," she glared briefly at Severus, "as Potter's guardian."

Harry frowned before looking up at Severus. "Why she not like you?" he asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Severus replied with a glare back at Amelia Bones.

"Thank you, Amelia," Albus said taking the papers. He nodded to Amelia who stepped into the fireplace and a green flash enveloped her before she disappeared.

Harry pushed himself off of the couch before hurrying over to the fireplace gazing through it and frowning as his tiny hands explored the fireplace. "Where she go?" he asked glancing up as Severus walked over to join him.

"She went back to her office," Severus replied. "She traveled by floo."

Harry looked confused. "What that?" he asked.

Severus sighed. "I'll explain it when you're old enough to understand," he promised.

Harry smiled happily. "Okay," he said before he gazed down at the floor when he realized that he had walked away from Severus without telling him. "Sorry," he said.

"Whatever for, P…Harry?"

"Walkin' away 'out telling you?"

Severus shook his head. "Don't worry about that, Harry," he said. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry involuntarily flinched before following the tall dark man back toward the couch.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: yeah, I know short chapter but oh well**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: (snorts) you would**

**Darth: (looks injured) well, what's going to happen in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: Severus goes to the Dursleys, Harry sees his new home, and the first trip to Diagan Alley**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: yeah so please review and I will post chapter 4 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon.**


	4. A New Home

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: yay!**

**Voldemort: boo!**

**Harry: who you? Me have headache now!**

**Voldemort: LITTLE BRAT! I SHOULD CURSE YOU RIGHT NOW!**

**Severus: (steals Mace's lightsaber) try it!**

**Voldemort: you work for me!**

**Severus: (steals Darth's nuclear tipped lightsaber)**

**Voldemort: ah…I should run now (takes off running)**

**Severus: (puts away lightsabers) works every time**

**Blaze: (laughs) here is chapter 4 and I hope that you like it, reviews, as always, are much appreciated.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 4**

**A New Home**

"When are we to leave for the Dursleys?" Minerva asked curiously.

"Soon," Albus replied. He narrowed his eyes. "You are planning on going with Severus to speak with the Dursleys?"

Minerva nodded.

"I don't think that is a good idea, Minerva. I think it would be best if I went with him. Both of you want to hex or curse them and I fear that you will just stand by and allow Severus to curse them," Albus admitted.

"I would never do that," Minerva protested though the look in her eyes suggested that she didn't really believe her own words.

Severus snorted gently to not wake up Harry as the four-year-old boy slept at his side, his head resting on the Potions Professor's lap. "I am sure Minerva wouldn't allow anything to happen to those muggles and I really can't afford a life sentence in Azkaban," he pointed out.

Albus narrowed his eyes. "So long as you two promise to keep the curses and hexes to a minimum and try not to do anything I wouldn't do. All you need to do is get the Dursleys to sign the custody papers," he said.

"We know what to do, Albus," Severus said curtly. He glanced at Harry before placing the four-year-old boy on the couch as gently as possible to not wake the boy up and he stood up.

"I'll watch him until you return," Albus said.

"It would be best to take him to see Poppy first," Severus reminded him. "He needs to start taking a nutrient supplant if he's to gain some weight. He is much too skinny."

"I will take him right away," Albus promised.

"And do try to be quiet. There are hardly any insolent brats here so it should be quiet enough to keep the boy asleep,"

"Yes, I know."

Severus nodded before he and Minerva walked to the floo and, after calling for Arabella Figg's house, they stepped through, reappearing in Figg's house. The elder witch glanced up from where she was sitting on the chair petting one of her cats. "Severus, Minerva, hello," she greeted them. "What brings you two here?"

"Business with the Dursleys," Minerva replied while Severus bit his lip to keep back a sarcastic retort. "We found out that they abandoned little Harry at the park and he nearly froze to death if it were not for Severus here."

"That would explain why I haven't seen Harry outside doing his chores recently," Figg admitted. "Well, I just saw Vernon make his way inside so I assume he just got off of work. Petunia and their boy Dudley have also just arrived."

Severus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then we must get going," he said smoothly. "We wouldn't want them to get too settled." _And I would really like to see Petunia's face when she sees me again,_ he added silently.

Minerva nodded. "We'll come back later to floo back to Dumbledore's office," she said before she led the way out of the house with Severus just behind her. They walked across the street before Minerva led the way to the door while Severus made sure he still had the papers.

Minerva knocked on the door.

"Could someone get that?" a voice shouted inside.

A moment later the door opened to reveal the slightly familiar skinny horse face blonde form of Petunia Evans Dursley. Petunia narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Severus sneered at her. "I am surprised you don't recognize me, Tuney," he snapped coolly.

Petunia's eyes shot wide with shock and anger. "_You!_" she shrieked. "You're that freak who turned Lily into a freak. Get off of my property."

"Not yet, Tuney," Severus said smoothly. "I came concerning your nephew."

"He ran away, the ungrateful little brat," Petunia snapped.

"On the contrary, Petunia, you abandoned him."

Petunia growled angrily. "I did no such thing. The ungrateful brat ran away," she said curtly.

"Who's there, Petunia?" The question came from a fat man with a mustache that Severus assumed to be Vernon.

"It's two of those freaks," Petunia growled.

"Freaks?" Minerva demanded.

"Get off our property," Vernon said grabbing the door from Petunia and slamming it in their faces.

Severus growled angrily. "Rude muggles," he hissed before he kicked the door down. "It is considered very rude to slam the door in someone else's face," he added smoothly as he walked into the house with Minerva just behind him.

"What are you doing here? You are trespassing on our property," Vernon screeched angrily.

"Calm yourself," Minerva said firmly. "We only came concerning your nephew. We have discovered that you two are unfit guardians and we have come to ask politely that you sign so that someone else may gain custody of your nephew."

"What did that little brat tell you? Whatever he said, he's lying," Petunia said.

"Mummy! I'm outta ice cream!" a fat child of at least four or five years screeched angrily.

"I'm coming Duddykins," Petunia called back.

"Your son I suppose?" Severus said lip curling. "I do not wish to stay here any longer than I have to so I suggest that you sign the custody papers and we'll be on our way."

"Who would wish to take custody of that brat?" Vernon sneered.

"I would."

"You?" Petunia's eyes went wide before they narrowed angrily. "Why would you want to take custody of Lily's son?"

"Why would you starve, beat and abandon an innocent four-year-old boy?" Severus retorted struggling to control his anger.

"He's just a freak," Vernon snarled. "He doesn't deserve to live or to eat like normal humans."

"Severus!" Minerva said sharply as anger course through Severus's veins and his wand fell from his arm before he pointed it at Vernon.

"Don't you _dare _call that boy a freak again!" he snarled in fury.

"Severus!" Minerva snapped placing a hand on Severus's arm though Severus could tell she was trying her hardest to calm herself as well at the audacity the two muggles had. She pulled the custody papers before summoning a pen to her hand and handing both to Petunia.

"Sign the papers before Severus loses what little hold on his temper he has," Minerva said firmly.

"Fine," Petunia sneered before she signed the papers and handed them back to Minerva.

Severus put his wand away before glaring at Petunia. "And for your information, Tuney," he said coolly. "I am taking custody of Lily's son because Lily named me one of his godfathers." With that, he turned around and stalked out of the house and Minerva quickly hurried after him.

* * *

Harry glanced up as the fireplace turned green and Severus walked out followed by Minerva. Minerva handed the papers to Albus who nodded. "Everything went well I hope," he said.

"Severus was on the verge of cursing them when they said that Harry didn't deserve to live or eat like normal humans," Minerva said the anger was clear in her voice.

Albus's eyes flared with anger. "You didn't curse them, did you?" he asked Severus.

"No, I restrained from doing so."

"Oh well that is a good thing. We wouldn't want little Harry's guardian to spend the rest of his life in Azkaban," Albus admitted.

Severus ignored that and walked over to join Harry before sitting down beside him. Harry gazed at him. "What happen?" he asked.

"I got custody of you, Harry," Severus replied.

"C…Custody?"

"It means I'm your guardian now and you now have my name."

Harry smiled happily. "They say yes?" he asked.

Severus shrugged. "Minerva and I more or less didn't give them a choice," he admitted.

Harry gazed at him before he gazed at his hands, which were folded on his lap. He knew that Severus said that he got custody of him but Harry couldn't help but wonder if it was just a joke and he would be sent back to the Dursleys. "What now?" he asked.

"I suppose we may as well head home," Severus said. "There are only a few days left of break before I have to return here and I may as well show you your room. I'm sure Minerva would like to come to help you decorate."

"De..deco…ate?"

"Decorate, yes," Severus replied. He stood up before taking Harry's small hand in his. "Why don't we get going?"

Harry hesitated before nodding slowly and following Severus as he and Minerva walked back to the fireplace. "How we do this?" he asked.

"Just hold onto me," Severus said.

Harry nodded before tightening his grip as Severus called out the address of his home on Spinner's End before he, Minerva and little Harry stepped through the green flames.

Harry noticed the home wasn't that big but it looked comfortable. After leaving the fireplace, Harry noticed they were in a living room with a couch and two comfortable looking chairs. There were windows that looked onto the snow covered land and the house was two stories high.

"There are three bedrooms," Severus said. "I'll show you to the one that will be yours and Minerva can help to decorate it."

Harry's eyes were wide. "Really? Get my own room?"

"Of course," Severus replied before he led the way up the stairs and little Harry followed him with Minerva just behind him.

* * *

It took a total of two days to finally decorate the room to satisfy Harry. Severus noticed that the boy was still very withdrawn and hardly ever answered Minerva's questions when it came to decorating the room. The boy seemed happy with just the bed, desk, toys and books that were placed in the room but Minerva thought it was too plain so she added some colors, red and gold mainly.

_Gryffindor colors, typical,_ Severus thought with a sneer. He really hated that it would be an eyesore to come into his ward's room every day. But the Scottish lioness was the Head of House for Gryffindor and both of Harry's parents had been Gryffindors so it would make sense that he would be one as well.

_I'll just make sure he isn't as arrogant as his father, _Severus thought as he knocked on Harry's door. "Harry?" he called softly opening the door.

Harry glanced up from where he was looking through one of the books Severus had given him. "Hi," he said happily though his eyes still suggested that he was slightly subdued.

"I wanted to know if you would to go shopping with me. You could use some new clothes and perhaps some more toys to keep you occupied," Severus said.

Harry hesitated. "Don't know," he murmured. "Not allow to have new things."

"At your Uncle's yes but not here, Harry," Severus pointed out. He walked over to the bed before sitting down beside the boy. "Now then, would you like to come with me?"

"Where we going?" Harry asked.

"A place called Diagan Alley."

Harry's eyes went round. "Okay," he said. He glanced down at the clothes that Severus had shrunk to fit him. "Get new clothes?"

Severus nodded. "Come on, Harry," he said before he pushed himself to his feet.

Harry closed his book before pushing himself to his feet as well and gazing up at Severus. "How we go there?" he asked.

"By floo like before," Severus replied. "Just remember to keep your mouth closed but still breath through your nose okay?"

"Okay," Harry said happily. He closed his mouth before gripping Severus's hand tightly as Severus tossed some powder into the fireplace.

"Diagan Alley," he called before stepping through taking Harry with him and the two of them reappeared in an alley of some sort, Harry coughed as he accidentally opened his mouth the instant he stepped out of the fireplace.

Severus glanced down at him before snorting gently. "Didn't I say to keep your mouth closed?" he asked.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine. Come on, little one, we have much to do and little time to do it," Severus said before he took his adopted son's hand and led him deeper into Diagan Alley.

* * *

"Severus!" Severus bit his lip to keep from groaning out loud at the familiar voice. He glanced briefly at Harry and was relieved to see his long hair was covering the scar on his forehead entirely. All he had to do was make sure that the scar was completely covered during the conversation.

He turned around as the blonde long haired gray eyed wizard, and Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy jogged over to join him with a four-year-old blonde behind him. "Lucius Malfoy," he greeted the wizard dryly.

Harry shrank closer to Severus's leg at the appearance of the new man and the action did not go unnoticed by Lucius. Lucius peered at the boy curiously. "And who is this boy? I didn't know you had children," he said.

"He's not mine." _Not through blood at least,_ Severus added silently but didn't dare voice that thought out loud.

"Oh and who's is he?"

"Well, technically he's mine," Severus admitted more to prevent Harry, who was staring at him with horror and sadness in his green eyes, from starting to cry. "I adopted him."

"Why?"

Severus shrugged.

Lucius smiled though Severus knew the Death Eater well enough to know that the smile was forced. "Perhaps he and Draco can have a playdate," he suggested.

"Your house?" Severus wasn't about ready to give out the location of his childhood home to Lucius, who was a Death Eater through and through.

Lucius smiled galefully. "Of course, I'm sure Narcissa would love it if you two came over," he said. He glanced at Draco. "Come on, Draco, say hi to Severus's son, er…"

"Harry," Severus said.

"Hi Harry," Draco said.

Harry pressed his face into Severus's leg and the Potions Professor glanced down at him before placing at hand on Harry's head, being careful to avoid moving the bangs. "Say hi to Draco, Harry," Severus said as soothingly as possible though he did catch a smirk on Lucius's face.

"H…Hi," Harry stammered out shuffling his feet and gazing at the ground shyly.

"So when are you available for the playdate?" Severus asked.

"How about this weekend? I have some work in the Ministry that I have to take care of but I should be free by then," Lucius said.

Severus nodded before watching as Lucius and Draco walked away. Harry shuddered before gazing up at him. "Who that? Don't like him. Scary," he whimpered.

Severus sighed. _If you knew the truth about me then you'd probably say the same thing about me,_ he thought. "Don't worry about it, Harry, let's finish shopping and then head home for dinner," he said.

Harry nodded before taking Severus's hand again and following the Potions Professor as he led the way further down Diagan Alley.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: and that was chapter 4**

**Darth: I liked it**

**Blaze: I thought you would**

**Darth: what's going to happen in the next chapter?**

**Blaze: Lucius's tells Severus about Harry not being protected by the blood wards, Draco and Harry get lost, and Harry has a nightmare**

**Darth: how will Draco and Harry get lost?**

**Blaze: I'm still working that out**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: so please review and I will post chapter 5 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon.**


	5. Play Date at Malfoy Manor

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: yup so here is the next chapter and I hope that you like it, reviews are much appreciated. Also, Malfoy's Manor is going to be located on the edge of a forest so I can use one of the ideas suggested to me by one of my reviewers. **

**Blaze: Also thanks for the idea, Michelle Erika and thanks for letting me know about Harry's age when his parents died, he is four in this story so I made a mistake and I'm too lazy to go back and change it.**

**Blaze: also, the nightmare is going to be in the next chapter as this chapter will be primarily focused on the play date and also Harry finds out a secret about himself that he really doesn't figure out until **_**Chamber of Secrets**_**.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 5**

**Play Date at Malfoy Manor**

The days leading up to the play date at Lucius Malfoy's manor passed by smoothly though Severus found himself running often to his newly adopted son's room every time Harry woke up screaming in the middle of the night. He knew that the boy was only four years old and yet he seemed to be experiencing the abuse his Uncle gave him over and over again.

Severus hated child abuse with a passion; it was the only thing he hated more than he had Voldemort and that was saying a lot since Voldemort had caused the death of his beloved Lily. The Potions Professor wanted to curse the bloody Dursleys into oblivion but he knew that he couldn't and so he had to restrain himself, even during the times when the talkative four-year-old spoke of the abuse.

Harry had grown from a very secluded and shy little boy to one who talked nearly nonstop in the days they've been together. It would take time for Harry to fully get rid of the emotional scarring that the Dursleys had given him but he was slowly recuperating. There were times, however, when he fell back into his old routines, such as the morning before his play date with Draco Malfoy.

Severus always got up at the crack of dawn and he was surprised when he found the four-year-old Harry walking in the kitchen and placing plates on the table. He narrowed his obsidian eyes slightly as he observed unnoticed. "What are you doing, Harry?" he asked struggling to keep his voice from turning hard . He knew that he had to be very gentle when it came with dealing with an abused child and being gentle wasn't easy when it came to Severus Snape.

Harry glanced up in surprise. "Making b'eakfast," he replied.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You are much too young to be cooking, young one," he said.

"But Uncle Vern'n get mad," Harry protested.

Severus forced himself not to sigh. "Harry, I'm making breakfast," he said before he walked to Harry and picked him up, placing him in the seat. Harry stiffened before he gazed up at Severus with huge green eyes.

"Not suppos' sit at table," he protested.

"At your Uncles, yes, but here you can," Severus said soothingly before he started making breakfast. When he was done, he glanced at the table and was relieved to see that Harry had listened to him and stayed at the table. He was so small that his head barely came to the top of the table and Severus had to place the boy on his lap in order for the boy to reach his plate.

_If Albus saw me like this then he'd never let me live it down,_ Severus thought sourly as he watched Harry eat after he had given Harry the nutrient supplement that he needed. The boy was polite but, like other times, he ate timidly and had to be encouraged to eat more when he only finished a quarter of what was on his plate.

When Harry was done eating, Severus placed him gently on the ground. "Why don't you go play for a while?" he suggested.

Harry hesitated. "What about you? Need he'p with dishes?"

"Dishes are something adults do, Harry, not four-year-olds. Go and play and I'll let you know when it's time to go to the Malfoy Manor."

Harry hesitated again. ""Kay," he said finally though his voice suggested how hesitant he was but he did as he was told. Severus knew well enough to know that the boy was only hesitant because of the rules drilled in to him by his idiot guardians.

_Albus was stupid to place Harry with those idiots,_ Severus thought angrily. He wasn't entirely sure if he would have done anything about Harry's predicament if he had known about it even though he was Harry's second godfather.

Shaking his head to clear it, Severus knew that he needed to come up with a way to hide Harry's scar for the play date. He narrowed his eyes as he thought about this because he knew he couldn't afford for Lucius Malfoy to discover that he has taken the Boy-Who-Lived as his ward.

* * *

Harry played silently in his room as he waited to go to the play date with that Malfoy person. He couldn't help but wonder as to why Draco would want to have a play date with a freak like him and he hoped that this wouldn't change things between him and his new guardian.

Harry rather liked his guardian Severus; even though he seemed to be a bit withdrawn and always wore black. It seemed to Harry that Severus was sad about something all the time but he couldn't entirely be sure if that was exactly true. All he knew was that Severus actually took him in and took him away from his relatives.

A part of Harry's mind kept on whispering that it was only temporarily and the instant Harry made a mistake, he would be sent back. That is one of the reasons why he was still self-consciously doing what he used to do at his old home. However, today was the first day that he actually got up at the crack of dawn to cook breakfast as he had when he was living with his aunt. The other times he was too exhausted after waking up screaming from nightmares.

No one knew the true extent of Harry's nightmares because he refused to talk about them. He believed that they were merely another show of how freaky he was. The nightmares he had of his Uncle's abuse, which he didn't consider to be abuse because he was so used to it and too young to understand, were common, as Severus had said, to kids that went through what Harry went through.

However, the nightmares he had of a pretty red haired woman and a flash of green light was something completely different. It was that nightmare that Harry refused to talk about no matter how many times he had that nightmare and Severus asked him what the nightmare was about.

Only about five days had gone by since Harry had first become Severus's ward and Harry loved every minute of it. Severus wasn't mean; he may be distant at times and very withdrawn but he wasn't mean, not like Uncle Vernon. Severus never hit him or locked him up in a cupboard and that made Harry relieved. He didn't like the cupboard because it was small, even for him as he was still very tiny for his age. He was four years old and yet Severus had commented, when he thought Harry wasn't listening, that Harry looked to be only two.

Harry knew that was because he couldn't eat as much as the Dursleys when he was living with them. He would be lucky to get the scraps left by Vernon or Dudley and he thought that it was better than nothing. Now, living in this small but comfortable house, it was completely different. He was fed three times a day and given more food than he has ever eaten in five days time with the Dursleys.

Harry often wondered what he was supposed to do to earn his food but every time he offered to do something today, such as make breakfast or do the dishes, Severus would remind him that four year olds didn't do this and they played and had fun. Harry smiled to himself; life with Severus was very good indeed.

_But how long will it last before he gets tired of having you around?_ An inner voice whispered and Harry scowled at the voice and firmly told it to shut up as he picked up one of the toys given to him. He didn't get to play much with toys that weren't broken so he found it amazing to play with the cars Severus had given him and actually be able to roll them across the ground without a wheel falling off or it breaking apart in his hand.

He had been given an assortment of toys ranging from cars to a train set to stuffed animals to even a few picture books that he found interesting. Those books looked to be brand new and none of the pages were missing like the pages of the books that he often stole from Dudley, since Dudley didn't like reading as much as Harry did.

Harry placed the car he had been playing with before he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the small bookshelf that carried the picture books on their shelves. He ran his fingers through them before pulling out a thin hardcover book that he knew he never read before and he walked to his bed before climbing on it and opening the book.

The only reason he knew how to read was because of the many books that he took from Dudley allowed him to learn his letters and even pronounce brand new words. Even so, he still had to sound out many of the words in the picture books but he was able to associate the words with the pictures on the pages of the book and it helped him to understand what the words meant. He figured that was why picture books were made in the first place.

The door to his room opened a little bit later and Harry glanced up as Severus walked into the room, a small bottle in his hands. "Hi," he greeted Severus happily before he turned his attention back to the book.

Severus raised his eyebrows. "You seem to love to read," he said coming to a stop at Harry's side. Harry had to tilt his head backwards to look up at Severus since the dark man was really tall. Either that or Harry was just really short.

"Didn't get to read much at home," Harry admitted closing the book and placing it on the bed beside him. "Time to go?"

"Not yet," Severus replied. He placed the bottle in Harry's hand. "You need to drink this and I need to take a look at something."

Harry hesitated but, feeling he could trust the dark man, he took the vial and, noticing that it was already open, he drank it, grimacing at the taste. "Yuck," he complained.

Severus's lips quirked in the beginnings of the smile. "It was just the nutrient supplement that I gave you earlier but with something added in it that'll keep you from getting sick should you eat too much or too little," he said. He reached out a hand and Harry winced almost self-consciously until he felt his guardian brush aside his dark hair to reveal the hideous scar that was on his forehead.

Severus's eyes narrowed slightly before he pulled out a jar of what looked like cream. "I'm going to have to put this cream on your scar," he said. "It'll hide it from everyone for twelve hours though it won't take it away permanently."

"What's permately?"

"It means forever."

"Kay. Why's that?"

Severus hesitated for a long moment. "It was caused by magic," he said finally.

Harry stiffened. "Magic not real." he murmured.

"Haven't we had this conversation before?"

Harry sighed. "Sorry," he said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Harry," Severus said.

"Why it caus'd by magic?"

Severus hesitated for a long moment. "Perhaps I'll explain to you when you get older," he said finally. He dipped his fingers into the cream and gently brushed it on Harry's forehead and he shuddered briefly at the cool touch of the cream. "When we go to the Malfoy Manor, you need to be on your best behavior. The Malfoys are old friends of mine."

Harry nodded. "Kay," he said.

Severus closed the jar before cleaning his fingers on a handkerchief before glancing at Harry. "Do you want to go in your pajamas?" he asked watching Harry with curiosity and mild amusement in his eyes.

Harry glanced down and noticed that he was still in his pajamas and he found himself blushing. "Oops," he said.

Severus snorted lightly. "I'll go contact the Malfoys while you get changed," he said.

"'Kay."

Severus got to his feet before making his way out of the room leaving Harry alone to pick out an outfit to wear to his play date with Draco.

* * *

Malfoy Manor was a huge house lying on the edge of a forest in London, hidden from the eyes of the Muggle that roamed the streets of the muggle parts of the large city. There were many rooms and nearly three floors that made it easier for anyone to get lost in the magnificent house. Severus has never liked Lucius's house because of the mere fact that it was here that the Dark Lord often gathered with his Death Eaters when he was still alive more than four years earlier.

Stepping through the floo from Hogwarts, as he didn't want Lucius to find out where he lived so he went through the enchanted school, Severus guided an awestruck Harry deeper into the house. Narcissa Malfoy was in the kitchen, Severus noticed, while Lucius and Draco came out to greet them. "Hello Severus and welcome," Lucius greeted him.

"Lucius," Severus replied inclining his head briefly in greeting.

Lucius smiled before he glanced down at his four-year-old son. "Draco, why don't you show Harry your room?" he suggested.

"'Kay," Draco said happily, his gray eyes big with excitement. He walked over to Harry's side. "Come on, Harry," he added.

Harry glanced up at Severus.

"Go on," Severus said.

"You be here?"

"Of course."

Harry hesitated again before nodding and walking after Draco even as Draco tried to urge Harry into moving a bit faster as they walked toward the large staircase of the ancient house.

Lucius watched the two children walk off before he turned his attention to Severus as Harry and Draco disappeared upstairs. His eyes were grim but excited at the same time and Severus narrowed his eyes. He believed that Lucius should be in Azkaban since he was the worst Death Eater of them all but since he had faked being under the Imperious Curse, he got out of it. The only reason Severus got out of it was because of Albus Dumbledore, who had recruited him to join the Order of the Phoenix several months before the defeat of the Dark Lord.

"There is something I need to speak to you about, Severus," Lucius said softly.

"What about?"

Before Lucius could reply, Narcissa walked into the living room, her blonde hair gently framing her face. "Hello Severus, it's been a long time," she greeted the Potions Professor.

"Hello Narcissa," Severus replied.

"Would you like some tea or something to drink?"

"No thank you."

"Narcissa, dear, why don't you instruct Dobby on what to cook for dinner? I need to speak with Severus about something important," Lucius suggested.

Narcissa nodded before she slipped back into the kitchen and Lucius waved for Severus to take a seat. He pulled out his wand briefly to cast a Silencing Charm over them before he sat down beside Severus. "I found out something interesting," he said softly.

"Oh? I would never have guessed," Severus replied somewhat sardonically, his lip curling slightly. "What did you find out this time?"

"I found out that the blood wards aren't protecting the Boy-Who-Lived anymore," Lucius said smirking.

Severus forced his face to remain emotionless though he wondered if Albus knew a Death Eater knew about the blood wards and them falling. "Is that so?" he said.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "It is also rumored that Albus Dumbledore took the boy away from his guardians for some reason even though those bloody blood wards protect him. I wonder why he would do that."

_You wouldn't believe it if I told you,_ Severus thought but didn't repeat his thought out loud as he shrugged. "Why should I care about the bloody Potter brat?" he asked. He knew that he had to keep up his personae for hating the Potters in order to prevent Lucius from coming to the conclusion that Severus had taken in the boy. He didn't think it was likely because Lucius knew how much Severus hated James Potter and he didn't know how much Severus loved Lily Evans.

"We can find him," Lucius said smirking.

"And what exactly would we do if we found him? It's not like the dark lord is here right now to thank us graciously for the gift," Severus said curling his lip in a sneer.

"Yes but we can keep the boy and get him ready for when the Dark Lord does return."

"And how do you suppose to do that when Dumbledore himself is probably watching over the brat?"

Lucius pursed his lips in thought. "I have not yet worked that out yet," he admitted.

"When you do then let me know."

"Of course, my friend, of course." Lucius smiled in that infuriating way that made Severus want to grit his teeth in frustration. Since Lucius Malfoy's family was Pureblood, he often acted as though he was better than Half-Bloods, like Severus, or Muggleborn, like Lily, wizards. Since Severus, supposedly, worked for the dark lord, however, Lucius had made an exception for Half-Bloods but still refused to like muggles or muggle born wizards.

Severus was not like that; he had been in love with a muggleborn wizard after all. _Lily._ Just thinking about his beautiful old friend brought back memories that Severus both wanted to forget and wanted to cherish forever.

"Dad?"

Lucius glanced up as Draco peered over the banister of the staircase with Harry standing just behind him before he waved his wand unnoticeably to cancel the Silencing Charm. "Yes Draco?" he asked.

"Can me and Harry play outsi'e?"

Lucius pursed his lips in thought before he glanced at Severus. "What do you say? Harry is your adopted son after all," he said.

Severus narrowed his eyes before he nodded. "So long as they stay away from danger and the forest and stay warm," he said examining Harry who was still dressed in the winter coat that Severus had bought him earlier.

"Of course. Go on, Draco, Harry. Either Severus or I will come and find you when it's time for dinner."

"Kay," Draco said happily before he glanced at Harry. "Let's go." With that, the two four-year-olds ran out of the house, well Draco ran while Harry merely walked fast to keep up with the energetic little boy.

"Your adopted son seems a bit smaller than normal," Narcissa said walking into the living room. "Has he been eating properly?"

"I have been feeding him three times a day, Narcissa," Severus replied. "But I only adopted him five days ago so I'm not entirely sure as to how he was treated before he came into my care." He didn't bother on expanding because he knew that lie was going to have to be enough.

Narcissa nodded. "That is good," she said. "I hope that nothing bad happened to him before he came into your care."

_Oh if only you knew._ "I can only imagine," he admitted in reply.

"To be honest, Severus, I don't see you as the father type," Lucius said smiling coolly and the smile didn't reach his eyes, which were still dark gray icicles.

Severus merely shrugged sneering slightly though he knew that Lucius was correct; hardly anyone can see him as the father type, least of all Lucius Malfoy.

* * *

Harry frowned as he gazed at the large trees of the forest. The forest was so big that Harry had a difficult time to see the sky through the canopy of snow-covered branches. "We shouldn't be here," he protested. "Severus say stay away from for'st."

"Oh come on, it not that bad. It safe. Nothin' here but tigers and snakes," Draco said happily.

Harry frowned; he's never seen a tiger before nor has he ever seen a snake and he found it would be rather interesting to see a tiger or a snake. "Other anim'ls?" he asked.

Draco pursed his lips in thought. "Don't think so," he said. "Come on, Harry." With that, the blonde four-year-old ran deeper into the woods while Harry followed a bit more slowly. He gazed at the trees and the branches and had to climb over a few snow-covered fallen trunks as he struggled to keep up with Draco. He knew that he was much smaller than he was supposed to be but he wondered if Draco could just stop moving so quickly.

"Draco, wait up," Harry protested.

Draco glanced at the smaller boy before he slowed down and dropped to walk step by step beside Harry. "Sorry," he said before he gazed around smiling and sat down in the snow. "Good place to stop."

"I'm not sure…"

"It okay really."

Harry hesitated before nodding and sitting down beside Draco in the thick snow covered clearing. "What you wanna do?" he asked curiously.

Draco shrugged. "Don't know. Didn't bring nothin' with me," he said.

"Didn't bring nothin' neither."

Draco smiled before he lifting a small snowball in his small hand and tossed it at Harry, hitting him in the shoulder. "Snowba'l fight!" he cried happily.

Harry touched his shoulder before he gazed at Draco and, seeing the boy grinning happily, smiled before he picked up the snow and tossed it at Draco. He's never had the chance to have a snowball fight because that was when his freaky stuff happened and the last time that happened, Dudley ended up upside down in a snowdrift in the park. Ever since then, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon kept Harry away from the snow and didn't let him participate in snowball fights.

Harry was glad for the chance to have a snowball fight with his new friend. He dodged out of the way to avoid Draco's thrown snowball before making another one and tossing it at Draco but he ducked behind a tree and, laughing, the two little boys began running around the snow-covered forest, tossing snowballs at each other.

The sun was starting to cascade down into the sky by the time Draco and Harry, exhausted, collapsed in a partly snowy clearing some meters from their last known location. Harry gazed around before frowning. "Where are we?" he asked curiously.

Draco frowned as he gazed around, his gray eyes narrowed. "Don't know," he admitted. "Must have gotten lost."

Harry whimpered. "Scared," he said.

"Don't be. Dad'll find us," Draco assured him.

"We not suppose be here," Harry reminded him.

Draco frowned. "Yeah, Dad'll still find us though," he said firmly.

"Hope so."

A hissing sounded nearby and Harry glanced up sharply, his eyes widening with surprise and fear as a beautiful green-black viper with red-brown eyes, a stocky build, short tail and a triangular shaped head with vertically elliptical pupils slithered into the open. Though it was still light outside, the snake continued to move forward, its' triangular shaped head moving back and forth and its' forked tongue flickering out between its' closed jaws.

Draco stiffened, his eyes going wide. "Stay still," he whispered. "Don't move. Those snakes dangero's."

The viper slithered forward, still looking back and forth until it spotted the two little boys and hissed, (_What are these humans doing here?_) in surprise. Harry frowned; he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to understand that and yet he was able to do so. He also noticed that the snake had a feminine tone of voice.

(_Hi,_) Harry hissed happily causing Draco to gasp at him in surprise while the viper turned to fix red-brown eyes on the little boy with surprise in their depths.

(_Sssso you sssspeak sssserpent tongue, little one,_) the viper hissed slithering forward and Draco drew back several steps, his eyes going wide.

Harry didn't understand that. _Couldn't Draco understand the snake too?_ He wondered silently. (_I guessss_,) he replied in the hissing voice.

(_Interessssting,_) the viper hissed slithering forward before lifting her triangular head and her forked tongue flickered out before gently touching Harry's face.

(_What'ssss your name?_) asked Harry curiously.

(_I am called Sssarissssa,_) the viper hissed.

"What you doin', Harry?" Draco asked fear in his voice.

"You don't underst'nd her?" Harry asked confused.

(_The little one ssseemsss afraid,_) the viper hissed sounding amused.

(_He don't underssst'nd you,_) Harry said confused. (_Why'sss that?_)

(_Very few can ssspeak and underssstand us,_) Sarisa hissed.

(_You're very pretty, Sssarisssa,_) said Harry. He stretched out a hand, ignoring Draco's quick intake of breath, before gently touching the viper's scaled green-black skin.

Sarisa hissed in amusement. (_Thank you, little one,_) she hissed. She slithered to Harry's side and her body slide onto Harry before curling up on his lap causing him to laugh in delight as he trailed his fingers across the snake's skin.

Draco continued to stare at Harry with wide-eyed surprise and Harry frowned as he glanced at him. "What?" he asked confused.

"You talk to that snake," Draco said eyes wide with shock.

"She friendly," Harry said happily. He held out an arm and Sarisa curled up on it, resting her triangular head on Harry's palm before examining Draco, her tongue flickering out from between her closed jaws. "Go on, say hi."

Draco hesitated. "H…Hi," he stammered out.

Sarisa glanced at Harry. (_What did the little one sssay?_) she asked.

Harry frowned. (_You can't underssst'nd humansss?_)

Sarisa shook her head tongue still flickering.

(_He sssaid hi, Sssarisa,_) Harry replied.

(_Tell the little one that I sssay hi assss well and I will not harm any friend of a sssserpent friend,_) Sarisa replied.

"She say hi and that she won't hurt you, Draco," Harry said gently stroking the snake's scales happily.

Draco's gray eyes narrowed. "Snakes danger'us," he protested.

"Not this one."

Draco sighed. "Suppose not," he said. He got to his feet before gazing around. "Where we go now?"

"Don't know."

(_You ssseem lossst,_) Sarisa said.

(_We are,_) Harry hissed in reply.

(_You are trying to find that big houssse near here?_)

(_Yessss_.)

Sarisa hissed before pointing her head through a gap in the clearing. (_Go that way and I'll lead you to the houssse,_) she hissed.

"Sarisa say she can take us to your home," said Harry to Draco who narrowed his eyes before hesitating and nodding. He followed Harry as Harry got to his feet and followed the viper's directions that he hoped he would lead back to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: I love the Parselmouth Harry so I had to bring him in**

**Darth: and?**

**Blaze: and I like vipers so I brought in a viper who looks different than normal vipers**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: so please review and I'll post chapter 6 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon and once again thank you to everyone who helped me to get 42 reviews on this story so far. If I can get over 50 reviews before I update again, I will be grateful beyond belief.**


	6. Nightmare

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: that's cool**

**Blaze: yup**

**Darth: what's going to happen in this chapter?**

**Blaze: Severus's reaction to Sarisa, Harry's nightmare, and Dumbledore makes an appearance**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: so here is chapter 6 and I hope that you like it, reviews are much appreciated and sorry that I have been making Harry seem a bit younger than he actually is and for the record, I have been exposed to four-year-olds, one of my classes in high school is teaching them but I forgot.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 6**

**Nightmare**

Severus found himself wondering where in the world Harry was as well as where Draco was. It was near sundown and yet no one was able to find Harry or Draco. Severus had a bad feeling that the two boys had gone into the forest in spite of being ordered not to. He hoped that wasn't the case but he couldn't see any other option at the moment.

Narcissa was worried while Lucius seemed indifferent about his own son whereabouts. Severus sneered at Lucius as he watched his wife pace worriedly in the kitchen with emotionless eyes. Narcissa glanced up as one of their house elves, Dobby, appeared before them.

"Dobby saw Master Draco and Harry coming back," Dobby said pointing a small hand toward the forest. House elves were small skinny beings with pointed ears and little hair but they were especially good at cleaning and cooking. Most Purebloods had house elves and some half-bloods had them as well. Severus preferred to do the cooking and cleaning himself to keep himself from becoming lazy like a certain long haired blonde Malfoy that he could name. Lucius wasn't that lazy but Severus knew that he didn't do anything that his house elf could do.

"Are they all right?" Narcissa asked worriedly.

"Dobby saw they fine but Dobby saw a snake with them," Dobby replied.

Narcissa's eyes went wide with surprise while Severus narrowed his eyes slightly as the blonde woman hurried to the door and opened it up, immediately throwing her arms around Draco the instant the boy entered the house.

Severus got to his feet and walked over to join Harry as the little boy came in. What surprised him the most was the small viper that was coiled around Harry's small arm and resting its' head on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, you do realize you have a snake on your arm, don't you?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

Harry giggled happily. "Yeah, her name Sarisa. She's pretty, isn't she?" he asked.

"How do you know her name?"

"She told me."

Severus frowned, a startling suspicion coming into his mind. "How exactly did she tell you?" he asked.

Sarisa hissed and Harry glanced at her, tipping his head to one side as if listening before, to Severus's greater surprise, he hissed in reply to the viper. _He's Parselmouth,_ Severus thought more shocked than ever before.

"Sarisa said she wanna come with us," Harry said glancing up. "Can she? Please? Please?"

Severus was so shocked at discovering that Harry was Parselmouth that he barely registered the question that Harry had asked him. He was also consciously aware of Lucius watching him intently and he knew that he would have to tell Albus about what has happened here. "I do no think so, Harry," he said firmly.

"But why?" Harry protested. "She's friendly. She won't bite no one. She said so."

"Harry, it is much too dangerous to have a snake with you."

"Please?" Harry asked gazing at Severus with pleading green eyes that made Severus once again relive a memory of his beloved Lily and he found himself wondering why it is that he was unable to say no to those beautiful eyes.

He bit his lip for a long moment before scowling inwardly. _Snape, you're getting soft,_ he thought before he narrowed his eyes. "Harry, you are only four-years-old and taking care of a pet is very hard," he said.

Sarisa hissed and Harry glanced at her. "Sarisa said she can take care of herself," he said looking back at Severus.

Out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw Lucius raise an eyebrow as if waiting for Severus's decision. He hated that he already knew what his answer was going to be. Damn those bloody green eyes.

"Fine so long as she takes care of herself and doesn't bite anyone that comes over," Severus said finally grounding out the words as if they were painful to say.

Harry's eyes glittered with happiness. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he cried happily throwing his arms around Severus, accidentally squishing Sarisa and startling Severus. He has never been hugged before, not since Lily last hugged him before she was killed and he found that it felt nice. He glared at Lucius who was watching with a raised eyebrow as he patted Harry on the back before gently removing his arms from around his waist.

Harry gazed up at him before he hissed something to Sarisa who hissed in reply; it sounded as though she was amused as well as happy at the same time.

Draco was watching the two of them with wide eyes. "Dad, I wanna pet too," he protested.

"Maybe when you get older," Narcissa said before Lucius could reply.

"Now I don't see what the big deal is," Lucius said smoothly. "I'm sure we can find a pet to keep Draco happy that we don't have to take care of until he's older."

Narcissa scowled at Lucius who merely shrugged, lips quirking in the beginnings of a very rare smile.

Severus sighed. "Look what you started," he murmured to Harry.

Harry gazed up at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry," he whimpered.

Severus reminded himself that he had to be very gently with Harry and not his usual sardonic snarky self. "It was a joke, Harry," he said finally.

"Oh." Harry giggled slightly.

"Why don't we get something to eat? Dobby just finished dinner," Narcissa said.

"Okay," said Harry happily and he and Severus walked into the kitchen after the Malfoys.

* * *

_Harry's nightmare began almost as soon as he fell asleep. He found himself whimpering as the red eyed man advanced on the pretty red haired woman in front of him. "Mummy?" Harry whimpered gazing at his mother with huge green eyes._

_The red eyed man sneered at him before he glared at the red haired woman. "Step aside, woman, and I will not harm you," he said coolly in a hissing voice that sent a shiver of horror go down Harry's spine._

"_No, I will not let you kill my son," the woman cried._

"_Very well then," the man sneered before he raised a sick and pointed it at the woman. "_Avada Kedavra!_" A blast of green light emerged from the stick and slammed into the woman just after she screamed and Harry cried out in horror and fear just as the nightmare shattered._

_

* * *

_

Harry didn't realize he had screamed out loud until he felt a cold tongue gently touch his face and his eyes snapped open to reveal Sarisa gazing at him with concern in her red-brown eyes. (_Are you all right, ssserpent friend?_) she hissed out the question.

Harry swallowed before nodding slowly. (_Yeah,_) he hissed in reply though he found himself trembling with fear.

The door opened and Severus hurried into the room before sitting down beside Harry on his bed though steering clear of the viper that was curled on Harry's chest. "Are you all right, Harry?" he asked. "I heard you scream."

"Sorry," Harry whimpered.

"Don't be sorry, Harry. Was it another nightmare about your relatives?" Severus asked though he sneered out the last word.

Sarisa lifted her head. (_Thisss one doesss not like your relativesss? Why?_) she asked curiously.

Harry shuddered. (_They beat me,_) he hissed in reply.

Sarisa hissed in fury. (_How dare they? I will persssonally kill them!_) She hissed angrily.

(_Ssseverus wantsss to do the sssame thing I sssuppossse,_) Harry hissed back.

Sarisa fixed red-brown eyes on Severus before slowly nodding and sliding off of Harry before curling up on the bed that Harry had made for her when they arrived at home. Severus glanced at the snake before looking back at Harry. "Was it?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "No," he said softly.

"Well what was it about?"

Harry hesitated feeling as though he could trust Severus even though he didn't want Severus to think he was a freak. "I don't wanna talk about it," he said softly.

Severus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are you sure?" he asked curiously. "You do know that I'll understand. What was it about?"

Harry hesitated again. "I saw a red haired woman and heard strange words and then a flash of green light and then nothing," he said finally fear deep in his voice.

Severus's eyes flashed briefly with shock. "I am sure it was nothing all too serious," he said softly. He narrowed his eyes before adding, "Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"

"'Kay." Harry lied down and closed his eyes before slowly drifting off to sleep, hoping beyond a doubt that he wouldn't have another horrible dream about the red-haired woman and content with the knowledge that Severus didn't think he was a freak for having that odd dream.

* * *

_I can't believe he actually had a dream about what happened to Lily,_ Severus thought as he paced in the living area while waiting for Albus Dumbledore to reply to his floo call. He knew he had to tell the Headmaster about Harry being Parselmouth as well as the nightmare that Harry had.

The floo flared to life and Albus walked out, dusting off his colorful cloak and his beard before smiling, a twinkle in his eyes. "Hello Severus, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I just found out something odd about Harry," Severus replied.

"Oh? And what was that?"

Severus hesitated for a split second. "Harry's a Parselmouth," he said.

The twinkle in Albus's eyes disappeared and was replaced by a look of shock. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, he spoke with a viper as if she was an old friend," Severus replied. "And the only time I have ever heard anyone speak Parseltongue was when You-Know-Who was still alive." He absolutely hated mentioning the Dark Lord's name because it brought back many awful memories.

Albus frowned. "This is most odd," he said finally. "As far as I know, Voldemort," Severus flinched, "is the only Parselmouth known and yet if Harry has this ability then it adds to one of my theories."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What are these theories?" he asked.

Albus was silent for a long moment. "When Harry destroyed Voldemort," again Severus winced, "a part of Voldemort may have gotten into him."

"I doubt that," Severus said with a sneer.

"It is merely a theory."

Severus nodded. "Also Malfoy knows about it," he said.

"How?"

"Harry was quite excited about it when he told me about the viper he became friends with. There's another thing, as well, Harry remembers part of what happened three years ago," Severus said softly.

Albus's eyes went wide. "How is that possible? He was nothing more than a baby," he protested.

"Yes but he described what happened and it scared him."

"He must have a vivid memory then."

Severus scowled. "I would prefer it if he didn't remember what happened that horrible day," he growled, his anger masking the pain, sadness and guilt he always felt whenever that day was mentioned.

"Are you starting to care for the boy?"

Severus sneered but didn't reply.

"I will take that as a yes."

Severus glared at the Headmaster but the old wizard merely smiled, the twinkle back in his eyes. "I will bid you good day, Severus," he said. "The rest of the Order know about you taking care of Harry by the way and the Ministry of Magic still isn't happy

"Yes, it makes sense that the Ministry doesn't like having a former Death Eater guardian the Boy-Who-Lived," Severus sneered.

Albus smiled faintly. "I must get back to the school. Shall I see you there in late August?" he asked.

Severus nodded. "I already have my plans prepared but it's going to be a bit harder with Harry," he said.

"He is welcomed at Hogwarts anytime and Madame Pomfrey, Minerva and the others will help you watch him while you're in class," Albus said.

Severus nodded before watching as Albus nodded and, saying his goodbyes, stepped into the floo before whispering Hogwarts and disappearing into the green fire.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: this was a short chapter but I still hope you like it and, warning ahead of time, sorry about the long author's note**

**Darth: yeah it was awesome**

**Severus: (sipping tea) yup**

**Blaze: tea?**

**Severus: yup (eats a twinkie) these things are good**

**Harry: awesome**

**Voldemort: (pops up out of nowhere)**

**Harry: (scowls and pulls out Mace's lightsaber)**

**Voldemort: Severus, help me now!**

**Severus: (steals Obi-Wan's and Ahsoka's lightsaber)**

**Harry: (takes Anakin's lightsaber)**

**Mace, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka: HEY!**

**Voldemort: ah, I'm going to run now (tries to run but ends up running into Anakin)**

**Anakin: good god, you're as ugly as Palpypie (reaches for lightsaber but sees Harry has it) HEY! THAT'S MINE!**

**Harry: ah, it was just lying on this table here**

**Anakin: So what's where I left it?**

**Obi-Wan: (opens mouth)**

**Anakin: ANOTHER LECTURE, RUN! (Takes off running)**

**Everyone else: (Also takes off running)**

**Obi-Wan: that's mean**

**Blaze: (laughs) please review and I will post chapter 7 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon and thank you to everyone who helped me get over fifty reviews.**


	7. Arrival at Hogwarts

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: really?**

**Blaze: yup really?**

**Darth: that's awesome**

**Anakin: yup**

**Severus: yup**

**Harry: yup**

**Blaze: here is chapter 7 and I hope that you like it, reviews are much appreciated and thank you to everyone who helped me to get 71 reviews on the first six chapters. Oh and Severus's explanation of the coincidence and Lucius's suspicions are a bit AU and not likely to happen in canon but hey, I did warn you this story was completely AU and I really don't like the bad, bad Malfoys so these Malfoys are only semi-bad. The first part, as the caption said, is the day before under Severus's POV by the way.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 7**

**Arrival At Hogwarts**

_The Day Before…_

Severus has always known that Lucius Malfoy wasn't an idiot and the sudden appearance of a boy with the same name as the Potter boy who lost his protection when the blood wards fell certainly caused suspicion to arise within his old friend. That was why, Severus wasn't all to surprised when Lucius drew him aside to speak with him as he and Harry were getting ready to return to Hogwarts and, through the school, Spinner's End.

"There is something very suspicious about your adopted son, Severus," Lucius murmured his gray eyes glittering. "Why is it that he has the same name as Harry Potter? And why is it that he suddenly appeared so soon after Potter disappeared from his Uncle's house?"

"I am sure it is just a coincidence," Severus said slowly.

"I honestly don't think that's true," Lucius said coolly. "It can't be a coincidence that your son has the same name as the Potter boy."

Severus quickly thought up of a lie. "Harry wasn't his original name," Severus lied slowly. "His mother named him something differently but after she left him in foster care, I changed his name when I found him."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Why would you name your son after your most hated enemy?" he asked. "It doesn't seem like you for some reason."

_Bloody hell, what do I say now?_ Severus wondered silently. "It was a spur of the moment decision," he said lamely. He was pretty sure Lucius could see straight through his lie and Severus knew he was going to hate it when Lucius was able to piece together the pieces.

Lucius snorted. "I find that highly unlikely," he said coolly.

Luckily Severus was saved from having to answer as Draco and Harry jogged over to join them. "Daddy, are Harry and Severus leaving now?" Draco asked.

Lucius turned his gaze to his son. "Yes," he replied. "I suppose they are." He glared at Severus who met the glare with a cool look of his own. "I suppose this is goodbye. You are welcome to come back anytime, Severus, with your son." He said the last part as if he knew something that either Severus didn't know or didn't want Lucius Malfoy to know. He had to hope that Lucius wouldn't be able to piece together the truth, even if he wasn't an idiot. He decided that when he got a chance, he would speak to Albus about it.

"Come along, Harry, we need to get going," Severus said glancing at his adopted son.

"'Kay," Harry said happily. He glanced at Draco. "Bye Draco."

"Bye Harry."

Harry took Severus's hand, much to Lucius's amusement, before following the Potions Professor as he led the way into the floo, calling quietly for Hogwarts and Dumbledore's office before stepping through it and disappearing with Harry just behind him.

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

Albus narrowed his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure he suspects something?" he asked.

"I'm not sure of anything when it comes to Malfoy, Albus," Severus replied pacing. The four-year-old Harry was sleeping on the couch in Dumbledore's office and Severus felt relieved that the boy wasn't there to listen in on the conversation between the two of them. They had arrived at Albus's office half an hour earlier but since Harry wasn't able to sleep much the night before, do to another nightmare, Severus allowed the boy to sleep for the time being. The little viper, Sarisa, was curled up on his chest and watching him with red-brown eyes as the boy slept.

"Do you think he knows that the boy is the Harry Potter?" asked Albus.

Severus shook his head. "No," he replied. "That much I know is true but he may be able to piece together the truth. Malfoy isn't an idiot, after all."

"That much is true," Albus agreed. He pursed his lips in thought. "It is also a good thing that you decided to return to Hogwarts when you did, especially if Malfoy is able to figure out the truth. Not that your home isn't protected but there is a chance that Malfoy will be able to find it."

"Yes, I know this, Albus," Severus agreed. "I knew we should have done something to stop Malfoy from suspecting something. I was too busy trying to hide the scar and allow Harry to have the childhood he couldn't have with the Dursleys," he sneered out the words as though it was a curse, "that I completely forgot that Malfoy wasn't a fool. How could I have been so stupid?"

"It is entirely understandable, Severus," Albus soothed him. "You wanted Harry to have some friends and Malfoy did invite you over so you didn't have much time to come up with an alternative."

"I shouldn't have mentioned Harry's name when we first met up in Diagan Alley," Severus growled angry with himself that he had been so stupid to not think about changing Harry's name before he met up with Malfoy.

"That is in the past, Severus, and nothing can change it," said Albus.

Severus nodded sharply before he narrowed his eyes as he watched Harry stir, blinking his eyes a few times before sitting up and gazing around. "Severus?" he called softly.

Severus glanced at the boy. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Harry nodded opening his small jaws wide in a jaw. "I'm fine," he replied before he gazed around. "Where are we?"

"Hogwarts."

"Why are we here? I thought you weren't coming back for another few days."

Severus shrugged. "I decided to come back earlier," he replied.

"Oh okay."

Albus glanced at Harry before smiling, a faint twinkle in his eyes. "Good afternoon, Harry," he greeted the small boy.

"Hi," Harry said happily before he climbed off of the couch, lifted Sarisa into his arms and walked over to join Severus. "Where are we going now?"

"To my rooms," said the Potions Professor. "Then we can get ready to dine in the Great Hall with the other teachers who, I know, want to meet you."

"How do they know me?"

Severus hesitated for a split second, unsure if he should tell the little boy the truth. "I'll tell you when we get back to my rooms," he said finally. He took Harry's hand before scowling at Albus who was smiling with a twinkle in his eyes and saying, "If you will excuse me, Albus, I am sure Harry is getting hungry, aren't you?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah!" he said enthusiastically.

Severus resisted the urge to chuckle before nodding a goodbye to Albus and leading the way out of the office with Harry just behind him.

* * *

Harry gazed in amazement at the large corridors and moving and talking paintings that made up most of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He watched as very few students walked around, dressed in trailing black robes, and shying away from Severus as the two of them walked onward.

"Why are they doing that?" Harry asked curiously.

Severus smirked. "I intimidate them," he said.

"Int…."

"I scare them," the Potions Professor amended his statement.

"But you're not scary," Harry protested. "You're the nicest man I know."

Severus's lips quirked in the beginnings of a smile that faded into a scowl when two students stared in dumbfounded amazement at Harry's words. He glared at the two students and the glare was enough to send the two students running off.

"Why do you do that?" Harry asked eyes round with confusion.

"I'll explain when you're much older to understand, Harry. For now, let's get you something to eat, I can hear your stomach growling," Severus said.

Harry blushed in embarrassment when he realized that his stomach was, indeed, growling and he quickly covered up his embarrassment by lowering his head, his fingers gently ran down Sarisa's green-black skin. Severus's lips quirked again but this time he managed to repress the smile that was threatening to cross his facial features.

After dropping off his packs, Harry and Severus made their way to the Great Hall with Sarisa coiled around his arm. The Great Hall wasn't as empty as Harry had thought it would be and he found himself gazing a bit fearfully at the taller people that were gathered in the Hall. He followed Severus toward the long table at the head of the Great Hall while Sarisa hissed quietly on his shoulder.

Just before they had left their rooms to go to the Great Hall, Severus had told Harry that he wasn't to speak to Sarisa while they were eating and that his ability to speak to snakes wasn't supposed to be made public knowledge. Harry had the feeling that Lucius Malfoy knowing of his ability wasn't a good thing and he couldn't suppress a shiver of horror. He didn't know Malfoy but he automatically didn't like him even though he found it interesting to be around Malfoy's son, Draco, who was his age and the only one his age that actually treated him like a friend rather than a punching bag like Dudley did.

Severus glanced at him. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Harry gazed up at his guardian before nodding mutely, too shy in the presence of so many adults to utter a single word. Severus nodded before the two of them sat down and Harry couldn't help but gaze in open amazement at the amount of food in front of him. It was more than Severus had in his house, even though Severus lived comfortably and still fed Harry more than thrice the amount of food the Dursleys fed him.

Minerva was sitting at his other side and examined the small boy curiously. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked curiously.

Harry, naively, found himself wondering if this was all a great big joke or a wonderful dream that he would soon wake up from. He decided that if it was a dream, he hoped it was the latter rather than the first, then he should at least eat and maybe he won't wake up hungry.

Severus had already filled his plate while a scowl was plastered across his facial features, which Harry found both intimidating and funny at the same time, the first because it scared the other students and the latter because it seemed like an odd occurrence to come across Severus's face.

Harry picked up the fork and started to eat, smiling at the food before he started to eat faster, afraid that the food would disappear.

Minerva noticed this and she placed a hand on Harry's smaller one. "Calm down, the food isn't going anywhere," she said. "Slow down or you'll give yourself a tummy ache."

Harry hesitated, not sure if he should believe the elder woman that had scared him when they first met, but nodded before starting to eat slower. As he ate, he found himself thinking about Draco and wondered how the young boy was doing.

(_Your guardian sssaid to ssslow down,_) Sarisa hissed softly her forked tongue flickering out from between her jaws and Harry, not realizing he was eating faster than he was earlier, blushed and started to eat slower.

He glanced at Sarisa but didn't say anything, remember Severus's words and not wanting to anger his guardian. He found himself wondering if Severus would send him back to his Aunt and Uncle if he made him angry. He had to hope that his guardian wouldn't and he decided to push the thought to the back of his mind as he continued to eat.

* * *

**A/n what do you think**

**Blaze: this is a short chapter**

**Darth: yeah, aren't all these chapters short?**

**Blaze: it makes updates easier and faster**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: and I'm sort of running out of ideas for what to do next with little Harry so I welcome any ideas in your reviews**

**Darth: yeah**

**Blaze: so please review and I will post chapter 8 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it will be anytime soon because of the fact that I am still working out many of the ideas for the plot of this story.**


	8. The Rules

**Blaze: new chapter**

**Darth: it's about time**

**Blaze: well, I do have over 80 reviews on the first seven chapters so I figured it was about time to post chapter 8**

**Darth: it's about time, what's going to happen in this story?**

**Blaze: Harry will meet the rest of the teachers, Severus's class, and some rules will be laid down**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: yup so here is chapter 8 and I hope that you like it, reviews are much appreciate and a huge thank you to everyone who helped me get over 80 reviews on this story and sorry I didn't update soon, I've been a bit busy working on school work. I have also decided that this will be the last chapter of this story since I'm coming up with a new idea and want to finish at least one HP fic before I post a new one.**

**Never Say Never**

**Chapter 8**

**The Rules**

Harry gazed around the Great Hall before looking at his guardian who was walking beside him. His little viper, Sarisa, was curled on his arm but stayed silent as he made his way deeper into the hall. Unlike last time, there were more teachers at the table where Harry ate the day before. Severus glanced back at him. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Harry shrugged before pointing to the other teachers, the ones he hasn't met yet and he found himself afraid. "Who are they?" he asked curiously.

"Those are the other teachers, Harry," Severus replied. He took Harry's hand before leading him toward the table, scowling at the other teachers, including Minerva and Albus who were smiling ear to ear. Harry knew that Severus scowled a lot but it was still funny to see the odd look cross his facial features. It made him seem more menacing than Harry knew him to be.

While Severus introduced him to the other teachers as they sat down behind the table and he filled Harry's plate, Harry nodded shyly in greeting to the others before gazing at the food with huge eyes. He still wasn't going to get used to eating so much food because of how little he ate while he was with his relatives.

"Ah 'Arry, I ain't seen you in a long time," the big giant that had been introduced as Hagrid, who was very kind from what his guardian had said, said smiling. "You're much bigger than when I last saw you."

"That's because that was three years ago, Hagrid," Dumbledore reminded the friendly giant.

"O, yea, it was that long ago, weren't it?" Hagrid exclaimed before laughing happily and glancing at Harry who smiled shyly at the giant. He started to eat slowly, chewing thoughtfully and watching as students began to file into the Great Hall. He knew that it was the first day of school for the students and he felt more nervous than ever before.

Severus glanced at him assuredly before turning his attention back to the tables as they began to fill up. Harry ate slowly before glancing at Severus. "Severus?" he said softly to not draw attention to himself.

"Yes Harry?" Severus asked turning obsidian eyes to the little boy.

Harry hesitated before he gestured toward the students, fear glittering in his eyes. Severus's lips quirked in the beginnings of a smile. "Don't worry, Harry," he said, "the students won't harm you. They'll probably just greet you and try to talk to you but they won't harm you."

Harry wasn't entirely sure if he could believe his guardian but he decided to let the matter drop as he turned his attention back to the students. There were already some who had been there when he had first arrived but he hadn't had a chance to greet them since he was too busy getting used to being at Hogwarts.

His guardian had spoke of rules that were to be laid down after Severus's classes today and Harry found himself wondering as to what those rules would be. He knew they wouldn't be as strict as the rules he had to follow at the Dursleys, Severus had made that clear, but he still couldn't help but be curious.

Harry ate slowly as he watched the rest of the students walk into the Great Hall before he turned to look at Dumbledore as the old Headmaster rose to greet the students. It was the first day after winter holidays so everyone was a bit cheerful, having just got done with Christmas and New Years and were likely still trying to play with their Christmas presents.

Harry had never received a Christmas present before but he did see getting a new guardian as the best Christmas present ever. He had to hope that he would not anger his new guardian to were Severus would send him back to the Dursleys. Glancing sidelong at his tall, dark haired guardian, he noticed that Severus was quiet, his curtain of dark hair framing his face as he examined the table were his Slytherins were sitting.

"Is Harry going to be going with you to your classes?" Minerva asked quietly.

Severus glanced up clearly startled. "No," he said. "It'll be dangerous for him to go there especially in my Gryffindor/Slytherin class. For some reason, something always ends up exploding in those classes. I'll ask Rose to watch over Harry."

Harry frowned. "Who's Rose?" he asked curiously.

"A house elf."

"What's a house elf?"

Severus sighed. "They're magical beings that like to work and constantly worked within Hogwarts' walls. Rose will watch over you and make sure you don't get injured or anything while I'm teaching my classes," he said.

"Oh okay." Harry wondered if he could have considered himself to be a house elf while he was living with the Dursleys. He figured it was likely since he had to do all the cooking and cleaning while his cousin just sat around and ate.

"Classes will be beginning soon, do you want me to escort little Harry back to your rooms?" a woman that Harry had learned was known as Pomona Sprout asked.

"You don't have classes this morning?" Severus asked.

"No," Sprout replied. "That's why I offered. I'm sure we wouldn't little Harry to get trampled by the students while they're trying to get to their classes."

"Oh yes, we must avoid that at all costs," Severus said. Harry wasn't entirely sure if he was being serious or if he was being sarcastic, sometimes it was hard to decide which one, between the two, Severus was being.

Sarisa, Harry noticed, had been unusually silent and he glanced curiously at the little viper that was watching everything with intelligent brown-red eyes while her forked tongue flickered out from in between closed jaws. Severus didn't like it when he spoke to Sarisa while he was in the presence of others so Harry restrained from asking his little snake if she was all right.

"If it's all right with Harry then it's all right with me," Severus said finally after a few moments of thought.

Sprout nodded before standing up as the rest of the students got ready to head toward their classes as breakfast ended. She turned her gaze to Harry. "Come along, Harry," she said. "Why don't we get you back to your rooms?"

Harry hesitated unwillingly to leave his guardians side but he figured it would be very boring in Severus's class and he did have toys, new toys given to him by the teachers and even some from the Malfoys, that he could play with. "Okay," he said.

\_You ssseeem sssad,_/ Sarisa hissed quietly to not draw Sprout's attention to her.

Harry didn't reply, he wasn't allowed to or else his guardian would get mad at him and perhaps send him back to his relatives. He just smiled at Sarisa to show his viper that he wasn't sad.

Sarisa was small for her age, she was called a dwarf viper, and would only get to be about five feet long. From what Severus had told him when he asked about that, Sarisa was small because she wasn't a normal viper, she was a magical one that had the ability to easily keep her size the way it was so that she won't grow more unless she wanted to.

Sprout led Harry to the dungeons before coming to stop outside of the portrait that led into Severus's rooms, the portrait, Severus had told him, was that of Salazar Slytherin, the first Slytherin. "I trust you'll be all right from here?" Sprout asked.

"Yeah, thanks, Sarisa's with me after all," said Harry with a small smile before he glanced at the portrait, trying to remember Severus's password. Sprout had disappeared when Harry remembered it and, murmuring "Lily" under his breath, he walked into his guardian's rooms.

* * *

Severus wasn't all together looking forward to his first class after the holidays, especially since they were filled with Gryffindors and Slytherins and that meant something was likely to explode at least once throughout the class. He wondered why the rivalry between the Gryffindors and Slytherins existed in the first place and yet he and Lily managed to maintain a friendship, even after he called her that disgraceful word.

Lily always had a kind heart and forgave him and even allowed him to hold her son once just before he started his spying duties for the Order of the Phoenix. If only their Secret Keeper, if only Black hadn't betrayed them, then they may still be alive today.

_If only you hadn't delivered the prophecy to Voldemort then they would definitely be alive,_ his conscience said and Severus scowled at it.

He hated that he had to keep being reminded that _he _had caused Lily and James Potter's deaths. If he hadn't delivered Trelawney's prophecy to Voldemort then his beloved Lily would still be alive.

_Stop with the 'ifs',_ Severus ordered himself silently as he stormed into the classroom while the students were talking to each other. "Open your books to page 234," he ordered sternly to the Gryffindors and Slytherins that were startled into silence by his sudden appearance. "Today you'll be brewing a Calming Draught, follow the directions explicitly and do try to keep from causing anything to explode. Begin!"

The students, who were second years, immediately began to work on the potion while Severus walked back and forth down the aisles between the tables as the Slytherins and Gryffindors brewed. While he gave points, took points away, and tossed snide comments toward the Gryffindors, Severus found himself wondering if Harry was all right.

He knew he would have to set some ground rules for the Boy-Who-Lived once he returned to his rooms. He also had to hope that Rose will be able to keep Harry out of trouble although he didn't know if any son of James Potter could manage to stay out of trouble.

As he continued to toss snide comments at the dunderheaded Gryffindors and award points to his Slytherins, since everyone agreed that he seemed to favor his snakes more than the Gryffindor lions but what else was he supposed to do when children of former Death Eaters were in his class and his house? Even with Harry as his ward, Severus still had to maintain his cover as a spy for the Order.

When Harry was older, Severus would sit him down and explain everything, from his days as a Death Eater to when he turned into a spy so that he will know that the way he treats Harry in his class when the boy comes to Hogwarts in seven years, it won't be real.

Severus knew that it would seem increasingly harsh of him to treat his ward like that, especially after he adopted him and allowed for the boy to take his name but it had to be done. Luckily enough the Ministry was able to keep Harry Potter's adoption a secret to where influential people like Lucius Malfoy wouldn't discover what happened. And so long as he kept up his appearance then they never will.

He just had to hope Harry would understand when he finally explained everything to him.

Right now, he was much too young and he deserved a chance to enjoy his childhood before the weight of the mantle of the Boy-Who-Lived was laid upon his shoulders when he turned eleven and came to Hogwarts.

Harry glanced up as the door to Severus's quarters opened and Severus, looking bone tired, walked into the room. He lowered the picture book he had been looking at before smiling. "Hi," he greeted him cheerfully.

Severus nodded once in greeting clearly tired as he sank into his chair and rubbed his head muttering something about "idiotic Gryffindors" under his breath. "How was your day, Harry?" he asked turning his obsidian gaze to Harry who, comforted by those unfathomable black eyes, smiled.

"It was good," he said happily. "I played with those toys everyone got me and Rose was nice, she made me food to eat when I was hungry. She seemed surprised when I thanked her though."

"I'm glad you had a very fulfilling day then, Harry," Severus said. He narrowed his eyes before asking, "What are you reading?"

Harry held up the picture book. "I got it from that bookshelf in my room here, is that okay?" he asked hesitantly still not accustomed to living with someone who actually cared enough to get him stuff to keep him entertained.

"That is fine, Harry," Severus replied.

Harry smiled faintly before lowering his head to where his long lashes gently touched the tops of his cheeks. "You said you wanted to talk about rules," he said.

"Yes I did," Severus agreed before he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the couch that Harry was sitting on before sitting down beside him. "Rest assured none of the rules will be as horrible as the atrocities you were forced to face while living with those imbecilic relatives of yours."

Harry frowned not understanding half the words that Severus had said but understanding the gist of what his guardian was trying to say. "Okay," he said.

"First rule is a simple one, you are to be polite and respectful of everyone, especially those older than yourself, second, if you wish to do something such as go out onto the grounds, make sure someone is with you, such as Rose or even another student, third, I want to know if you are feeling pain or having nightmares. Fourth, you are not to speak in parseltongue, or speak to your snake, when you are with others, you understand?"

"Yeah," Harry said. Those rules seemed simple enough and they were nothing compared to the rules he had to follow while he was living with the Dursleys. He hesitated for a split second. "I'm hungry," he said finally when his stomach started to growl in complaint.

Severus's lips quirked again. "We will be joining the staff in the Great Hall for dinner," he said. "That way you can get used to being around the students since you'll be spending most of your time with many students around."

"Okay."

Severus stood up. "Are you ready to go to dinner?" he asked.

Harry, his stomach growling, grinned before gazing around. "Ah, where's Sarisa?" he asked.

Severus rolled his eyes, a despairing look in their black depths. "Don't tell me you lost your little viper," he murmured.

Harry frowned, hoping his guardian wasn't mad as he gazed around. \_Ssssarisa?_/ he hissed gazing around. \_Ssssarisa, where are you?_/

Severus had a pained look in his eyes but he didn't comment as Harry walked around, hissing for his companion until he heard a hissing in response and watched as Sarisa slithered out of Harry's room gazing at Harry with confusion in her eyes.

\_What'sss the matter?_/ she hissed back as she slithered toward Harry and Harry lowered his arm before watching as his snake coiled around his arm.

\_I couldn't find you,_/ Harry hissed back.

\_Oh, sssorry, I wasss merely in your room._/

"Harry, we must get going," Severus said.

Harry nodded. "'Kay," he said before he followed Severus as his guardian led the way out of the rooms before walking down the hallway and toward the Great Hall for dinner with the members of the Hogwarts staff. As he walked with Sarisa curled around his arm, he found himself more happy than he's ever felt before since the day he was abandoned by his aunt and uncle. In spite of how naive he was at his young age, Harry Potter knew in his heart that he had finally found a place to cal home...forever.

* * *

**A/n what do you think?**

**Blaze: if anyone wishes to do a sequel to this story than they may. The sequel is up for grabs and if you want to do it then just PM me to tell me so**

**Darth: you left it hanging**

**Blaze: that's why I'm allowing readers to think about writing the sequel.**

**Darth: ah okay**

**Blaze: I'm also going to post this as a challenge on _Potions and Snitches_ so if anyone wants to answer it then they'll be able to. Thank you to all 103 reviewers on this story (I'm including the reviewers from the first version of this chapter) and sorry if I did leave it hanging, as I said, anyone can write the sequel if they want to.**


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